Bernie Ecclestone has backed Pirelli ahead of the International Tribunal for its tyre test with Mercedes.

Both Pirelli and Mercedes have been called to face the FIA's tribunal for a possible breach of regulations after Mercedes' 2013 car was used for the test. However, Ecclestone feels Pirelli has no case to answer and says if there is any blame to be apportioned for the test it should fall solely with Mercedes.

"Wait until the tribunal, they've got all the facts," Ecclestone told Adam Cooper's F1 Blog. "If you offer me stolen goods, it's up to me to decide whether I want to accept them or not. It's not up to anyone to tell me what I should do. I should know what I should do.

"Pirelli were doing the right thing, obviously. They couldn't get out of a tyre problem, if there had been proper testing, which there should be, they wouldn't be in this problem. It's only because there's no proper testing that they're in this problem. As people have been complaining, the obvious thing to do was to get out of it by testing. And they asked."

When asked if he felt Pirelli had done anything wrong, Ecclestone replied: "Not at all."

The QRU need only make some smart decisions and get rid of the deadwood to ensure the Reds are potent again on the field, and, when that happens, the overall health of Australian rugby will improve dramatically, Greg Growden writes

Paul Pogba said he left Manchester United because he was "disgusted" Sir Alex Ferguson picked a right-back ahead of him in midfield and revealed it caused the breakdown of his relationship with the former manager